Have insurance.
People often complain about the high cost of insurance. While it is true that insurance can be expensive, and as you get older seems to take up more and more of your income each month, the cost of not having insurance is much higher. Let's say you pay $100 a month for car insurance. If you get in an accident, they cover the cost of repairs minus $500 for your deductible. Okay, now let's say your car value is $10,000. You get in an accident and the car is totaled. You have replacement coverage, so you get a check to buy a new car. In order for your cost of insurance to be not worth it, you would have had to have been paying insurance for 95 months, or in other words almost 8 years, without ever using it. So, while at times it seems like it is not worth it, the cost to not have it is much higher. Car insurance is just one example, property insurance, health insurance, etc. all work the same way. It is a high cost and seems really expensive if you never use it, but when your home floods, or you get diagnosed with a disease, etc. the cost seems paltry to what you would have spent otherwise. Insurance protects you from having to mortgage out your home, sell your assets, or get into great debt when life happens. If the person in the above example did not have insurance, is it likely they would have had $10,000 cash on hand to go out and get a new car, pay off a loan on the car, or fix the one they had before? No. Protect what you have with insurance.

Save for retirement. One of the ways you can protect your family, and their lifestyle is to not only have insurance to kick in when you die, etc. but to have a retirement saved up so that you do not burden them with the expense of your care when you age, and are no longer working. Too many people start too late, or plan for retirement unwisely. Diversify your retirement savings. Start now. Know how you will have the money to live when you retire so that you do not have to rely on your children, the government, or someone else to take care of your needs.

Know the laws for inheritance, estate taxes, and other similar taxes. Part of protecting what is important is protecting those you love from being hit with huge taxes when you pass away. Estate taxes, inheritance taxes, etc. can be extremely high, and can result in your children or spouse having to sell property, etc. just to pay the taxes on the place. If you want to avoid this, and protect them from it, then be sure to talk with a financial advisor and set up your estate in such a way that your family will not be hit with high taxes when you pass on. There are many methods for minimizing the amount of taxes paid, or avoiding them all together, so speak with a professional to figure out what will work best for you.